After taking advice, I became a top male idol.

Chapter 24: A Master Joins the Fray! One Day Before the Match!

The day before the competition.

With a major official announcement from the official Weibo account of "The Voice of China", the entire entertainment industry's attention has been focused on this upcoming "Chinese style" showdown.

[Special Guest: Mr. Jiang Yunshan, a grandmaster of Peking Opera and a national first-class actor, has confirmed his participation in the second season of "The Voice of China" as a special guest professional mentor!]

This news caused a stir in the industry.

Who is Jiang Yunshan?

He is a living fossil of Peking Opera, a master who has appeared on the Spring Festival Gala and received a lifetime achievement award!

In this era where traffic is king, he is one of the few veteran artists who only care about art and not about face.

He once performed at a state banquet, and his rendition of "Dingjun Mountain" is hailed as a textbook example of a masterpiece. In this parallel world, his status is equivalent to that of the master Mei Lanfang.

The fact that the production team was able to persuade him to participate clearly shows that they spared no expense, which also demonstrates their emphasis on the theme of "traditional Chinese style".

A video of a pre-match interview subsequently surfaced.

Facing the camera, Mr. Jiang sighed softly.

"Guofeng... is a good term."

He shook his head. "But most of the ancient-style songs these days are just piles of fancy words. Adding a couple of notes from the guzheng makes it traditional Chinese style? That's just the surface. The soul of traditional opera has been lost."

"I came here today just to see if there are any young people who understand what we old folks have been guarding our whole lives."

......

The 20th floor of Xinghe Building.

Ye Lan's team training camp.

Because the official recording is tomorrow, today is the final sprint stage.

"stop!"

Ye Lan, holding a pointer, gently tapped the music stand, interrupting Gu Qingzhou's singing.

Gu Qingzhou immediately stopped, a fawning smile plastered on her face: "Sister Lan, was my vocal transition not perfect enough? I think I could add two more curves..."

"Greasy," Ye Lan uttered.

"This is traditional Chinese style. Tone down those fancy R&B flourishes; I want a clean, rustic feel. Are you trying to confuse the audience by adding so many twists and turns?"

Gu Qingzhou's smile froze, and she stood there awkwardly, saying, "Yes, yes, Sister Lan is right. I'll change it, I'll change it right away."

Chen Xi and Li Bowen, standing nearby, didn't dare to breathe too loudly, for fear of offending the Empress.

"Zhao Yu, keep an eye on him and tap out the beat again."

"Alright, alright, everyone else stop watching and get back to practicing! Gu Qingzhou, your rhythm is still off, come here!"

11:00 AM.

Ye Lan glanced at the time. "Alright, that's enough for this morning. Everyone, go have lunch."

She turned to Zhao Yu: "At one o'clock this afternoon, you take the others to Studio Two for rehearsal."

"Aren't you coming this afternoon?"

Ye Lan pointed to Lin Zhixing, "He's coming with me to Studio One. This song is too difficult; we still need to work on it."

Gu Qingzhou stared at Lin Zhixing and gritted her teeth.

Alright, go ahead and practice! I want to see what kind of skills you'll develop after all this extra training every day!

……

3 PM.

Inside Recording Studio No. 1.

"stop."

Ye Lan took off her monitoring headphones, and a smile finally appeared on her lips.

She originally thought Lin Zhixing was an unorthodox individual, but she didn't expect him to be so adaptable.

"This performance was good. Both the breath support and the charm of the opera singing were well done."

Lin Zhixing let out a long sigh and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

He glanced at the system panel.

[Singing Proficiency (73/100)]

After these few days of intensive training, coupled with the boost from his "Mastery of Traditional Opera," his singing skills have improved by leaps and bounds, now approaching the advanced level of a professional singer.

"Sister Lan, does this mean I've... graduated?" Lin Zhixing asked tentatively.

Ye Lan leaned back in her chair and looked him up and down.

"It's barely audible."

She stood up and walked to Lin Zhixing.

"Lin Zhixing, tomorrow's battle won't be easy. Everyone's waiting to see us fail."

Ye Lan's voice was soft, "But I hope you win. Not just for the team, but also to prove that my judgment was right."

Looking at that stunningly beautiful face so close to his eyes.

Perhaps the atmosphere was too good, or perhaps the time they had spent together these past few days had emboldened him.

Lin Zhixing, almost without thinking, made a joke: "Sister Lan, if I really win... is there a reward?"

He regretted it as soon as the words left his mouth.

Teasing the diva? That's a death trap.

To everyone's surprise, Ye Lan wasn't angry.

Instead, she narrowed her beautiful eyes slightly, leaned forward, and looked at him with a half-smile.

"Oh? What kind of reward do you want?"

Her voice carried a languid tone at the end, which lingered on people's hearts.

Lin Zhixing had only said it casually, but after being stared at like that, he became a little timid.

"Uh... I was just joking, I wouldn't dare..."

"Pfft."

Ye Lan suddenly laughed.

In that instant, it was as if the ice and snow had melted away.

The saying "a smile can charm a hundred hearts" perfectly describes this.

Lin Zhixing was completely stunned.

He had seen the aloof Ye Lan, and he had seen the drunk Ye Lan, but this bright and beautiful smile was the first time he had ever seen her like this.

"OK."

Ye Lan put away her smile and resumed her domineering aura as a mature woman.

"If you can win this match, I'll give you a reward you won't expect."

"Remember, it's about winning."

……

8 PM.

Lin Zhixing returned to his rented room in a daze.

My mind was filled with Ye Lan's smile and that mysterious reward.

"An unexpected reward?"

He shook his head, banishing those thoughts.

"What are you thinking? Let's win first."

Just then, my phone rang.

It was an unfamiliar local Beijing number.

Lin Zhixing answered the phone, "Hello, who is this?"

A steady voice from a middle-aged man came from the other end of the phone, "Is this Mr. Lin Zhixing? I am Wang Qiang, the artist director of Xinghuang Entertainment."

"Star Radiance?"

"What is it?" Lin Zhixing asked in a cold tone.

Wang Qiang seemed oblivious to his coldness, or perhaps he simply didn't care. "It's like this, Mr. Lin. Our General Manager Liu has been following your matches closely. What happened before was all a misunderstanding. It was mainly because Zhang Yue's agent was incompetent; the company's higher-ups were unaware of the situation."

"I'm calling on behalf of Mr. Liu to apologize to you and, by the way, to discuss cooperation."

"If you're willing to come back, the company is willing to offer you an A-level rookie contract, and all previous breach of contract penalties will be waived. Moreover, we can provide you with a top-notch production team to help you prepare for the upcoming competitions."

At this point, Wang Qiang paused, then threw out his final trump card:

"I know you're in a tough spot right now. Facing Li Ziming and the folk music ensemble in the next match, your chances of winning are slim. But with Xinghuang's resources involved, we have a way to help you..."

Lin Zhixing laughed when he heard this.

How does it work?

Do you really think I'm a three-year-old?

"Um...Director Wang, right?"

Lin Zhixing suddenly interrupted him, his voice becoming somewhat broken:

"Feed? Feed? What did you say? A-level contract?"

"Oh dear... I'm sorry, I live in a basement, the signal isn't very good..."

"Feed? Feed? I can't hear you... What? You're going to give me money? No, no..."

"Feed? Sizzle sizzle..."

"beep--"

Lin Zhixing hung up the phone immediately.

......

On the other end of the phone.

Sitting in his luxurious office, Wang Qiang's smile froze completely as he listened to the busy tone on his phone.

Basement? Poor signal?

Damn it!

The sound was so clear when I answered the phone just now!

This is clearly intentional! They're messing with me!

"Good...very good."

Wang Qiang slammed his phone on the table, his face grim.

"If you won't listen to reason, you'll have to suffer the consequences. Lin Zhixing, since you don't want to maintain your dignity, then we'll see."